Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Ghana (Ratification: 2000)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. The Committee previously noted that section 200B of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 as amended by the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Act, prohibits a person from engaging in racketeering and defines racketeering as the operation by a structured group of an unlawful activity that involves fraud, deceit, extortion, intimidation, violence or any other unlawful method in the execution of the activity. Section 202B(4) further provides that, unlawful activities associated with racketeering include bribery, prostitution, the sexual exploitation of children, gambling, narcotic drug offences, money laundering and human trafficking. Noting with regret an absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether racketeering activities prohibited by section 200B include the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. If this is not the case, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to implement Article 3(c) of the Convention without further delay.

Article 6. Programmes of action. 1. National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (2017–21). The Committee previously noted that the second NPA for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour had been validated by the National Steering Committee on Child Labour (NSSCL) and was expected to be approved and launched in 2017.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that the National Plan of Action Phase II on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2017–21 (NPA2) which aims to reduce the worst forms of child labour to the barest minimum possible through enhancing access to education and social protection services has been approved by the Cabinet and disseminated to various stakeholders for implementation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the NPA2 and its impact in eliminating the worst forms of child labour, including statistical information on the number of children withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour and rehabilitated. Please provide information disaggregated by gender and age.

2. National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Human Trafficking (2017–21). The Committee notes that the Government adopted the NPA for the Elimination of Human Trafficking (2017–21). According to the document on the NPA for the Elimination of Human Trafficking, the key goals of this NPA are to strengthen the country’s capabilities along the holistic “4P’s” strategies of prevention of trafficking in persons; protection of victims of trafficking; prosecution of offenders of trafficking in persons; and partnership with stakeholders to combat trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken within the NPA for the Elimination of Human Trafficking (2017–21) to prevent the trafficking of children and the results achieved including the number of children prevented and withdrawn from trafficking and rehabilitated.

3. ILO–IPEC project. The Committee notes that a project entitled Convening stakeholders to develop and implement strategies to reduce child labour and improve working conditions in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (CARING Gold Mining project), 2015-2019 is ongoing in Ghana. According to the technical progress report of 2019 of this project, the following outcomes have been achieved; (i) a new tool consisting of two operational instruments, such as the Child Labour Interrogation Form and the Child Labour Police Report, have been drafted to strengthen the enforcement of child labour laws; (ii) Community Child Protection Committees (CCPCs) were established in four communities for tracking child labourers at the local level; (iii) Child Labour and Responsible Mining Network (CLARM-NET), a platform for knowledge-sharing, advocacy for the institutionalization and application of the tools and plans developed through the project, was established; and (iv) child labour awareness activities were implemented in 90 schools at Adansi North and seven schools in Aowin. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the functioning of the CCPCs in tracking child labour and to provide information on the number of children identified and withdrawn from child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the overall impact of the CARING Gold Mining Project in reducing child labour in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

Article 7(2)(d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Child orphans of HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children (OVCs). The Committee previously noted the implementation of the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) programme, which aimed to empower the extremely poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable population of the country, including children in difficult situations like OVCs, as well as its positive impact on the school attendance of OVCs. It requested the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect child victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS from the worst forms of child labour, in particular by increasing their access to education, within the framework of the LEAP programme.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided any information on this matter. However, the Committee notes from a report by Understanding Children’s Work (UCW), entitled Child Labour and the Youth Decent Work Deficit in Ghana, 2016 that the specific objectives of the LEAP programme include improving access to basic education for children aged five to 15 years, by providing a conditional cash transfer to households with children less than 15 years. According to this report, as of 2015, the programme had reached more than 90,000 households in over 100 districts throughout the country. The Committee further notes the information from the UCW report on the social protection policies and programmes and various ongoing initiatives to improve access to education, including the Free School Uniforms and the School Feeding Programme; the Education Strategic Plan 2010–20; Comprehensive Basic Education Programme; and the Capitation Grants Policy for children enrolled in basic schools. The Committee, however, notes that according to UNAIDS estimates of 2017, in Ghana approximately 220,000 children under the age of 17 years are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. Recalling that OVCs are at a greater risk of being involved in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to protect child victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS from the worst forms of child labour, including through the LEAP programme and the various existing initiatives and programmes. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, as well as their impact, including the number of orphans who have been reached through such initiatives.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 109th Session and to reply in full to the present comments in 2020.]